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A view into Cedar Mesa’s Dark Canyon, near Bluff, where the Animas Valley Institute will be holding its 11-day “Animas Quest” journey in June.
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In search of the wild soul
Animas Valley Institute offers locals first-time peek into outward/inward journey
by Tracy Chamberlin
For more than 30 years, the doors at the Animas Valley Institute in Durango have been open. And in that time, it has helped tens of thousands of people.
For more than 30 years, the doors at the Animas Valley Institute in Durango have been open. And in that time, it has helped tens of thousands of people.
Still, many locals don’t know that the small office on 12th Street has its doors open to them. That is something the local nonprofit is looking to change.
The institute’s staff and founder host their first ever open house from 4-8 p.m. Thurs., May 2, so that everyone in the Four Corners can walk in and find out what they’re all about.
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“It’s different; it’s truly, truly unique,” said Angela Atkinson, operations coordinator for the institute.
Atkinson’s been working full-time with the nonprofit organization – which specializes in multi-day, nature-based, “experiential explorations into the depths and wilds of soul” – for more than a year. She said she feels strongly about the work it does, calling it “transformational,” “different” and “compelling.”
She’s one of three staff members at the 12th Street office. Office manager Tracey Belt has been with the institute 10 years, and program manager Sara Papathakis started almost a year ago after earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology at the same school where the founder Bill Plotkin earned his doctorate.
Plotkin, a psychologist and wilderness guide who founded the institute in 1980, has always been comfortable and at peace in the natural world. His main area of interest is depth psychology, which explores the relationship between the conscious and unconscious and includes both psychoanalysis and Jungian psychology.
He earned his doctorate in psychology at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and all the while was asking questions like “What does it mean to be fully human? What does it mean to be an adult? What am I meant to do with my life?”
He probed that question further as he moved into the world of academia, working as a professor of psychology in New York. There he discovered the works of Steven Foster and Meredith Little, who spoke of a contemporary approach to the ancient vision quest.
That’s when Plotkin went on his first quest. He calls it a “vision fast,” not a vision quest. Like Jesus, Buddha or Mohammed, who all underwent periods of fasting and subsequent clarity, the vision fast is a journey into the mystery of the psyche and the soul.
Soul is a connotation-heavy word, according to Atkinson, and often comes with specific attributes and definitions. “People are going to bring their own ideas,” she said. “And, we honor them all.”
Atkinson described the soul as a “unique song that only we can sing,” and part of what the institute does is to help individuals find that song, looking to nature and poetry as guides. “Nature is a mirror for our soul,” she added.
In today’s world where everyone searches for Wi-Fi or checks their Twitter feed, the Animas Valley Institute is looking to help individuals get in touch with nature, the soul, the imagination and the wild psyche.
The culture is so driven and distracting, Atkinson said. “We have too much chatter going on to hear (our soul).”
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Tracey Belt, office manager for the Animas Valley Institute, packages food for an upcoming 11-day “Animas Quest” course later this month at Kelly Place, in McElmo Canyon./Photo by Steve Eginoire
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The staff members, as well as the 20 guides from all over the world, have all been through the process and are open to helping others through it. For Atkinson, that’s one of the most rewarding parts of the job.
It’s not a simple or quick process, so staff members at the institute are looking to put together some regular community-based, informal gatherings.
“Part of what we do in our work is helping people cultivate their innate human wholeness,” Plotkin said. That development can seep into every aspect of life, and that’s what his new book, Wild Mind: A Field Guide to the Human Psyche, is all about.
If his first book, Soulcraft: Crossing into the Mysteries of Nature and Psyche, is the introduction into the process, then Wild Mind is the map.
Plotkin’s ideas have been well received by the world of academia he left behind. His books are even used as textbooks around the globe.
The institute offers anything from three-, five- and 11-day journeys to year-long immersions and multi-year trainings. Some are held at retreats, others at campsites or involve backpacking into the wilderness.
Although 60 percent of the trips are in the Four Corners, the institute also hostsexplorations in Costa Rica, Scotland, Asia and elsewhere around the world.
One upcoming trip is a three-day quest based out of the Junction Creek campground from June 28-July 1. It’s based on Plotkin’s new book, Wild Mind, and costs $450.
The price tag for these trips can range from just a few hundred dollars to almost $1,800 for an 11-day journey. Atkinson said that’s reflective of the intense training and dedication the guides go through before leading others. “We have a really high bar,” she added.
And, just because someone doesn’t have the money doesn’t mean they can’t go. The institute has scholarships available.
The trips typically begin with some basic survival training for the participants. Over the years, there have been a few accidents, but nothing serious. Plotkin said perhaps that’s because they don’t see themselves as using the forest, but as visitors attempting to make themselves worthy of being taught.
Only a few people get to the place where they are ready for what Plotkin calls the “descent of soul.” But that’s not an obstacle for the guides or staff at the institute.
“This isn’t about therapy or fixing things,” Atkinson said. For many participants, it’s just the beginning of a journey.
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